This invention relates, generally, to a computing device with a card receptacle, and more specifically, to a computing device with a card receptacle that is operable to allow access to a cavity suitable for receiving an expansion card, an additional circuit module, a backup battery or the like.
The use of computers becomes more prevalent every day. And as users become more mobile, a whole range of portable computing devices, such as laptop computers, notebook computers, handheld computers and palm-sized computers, have emerged in the market. The size of these computing devices has decreased while simultaneously the capabilities per unit volume have increased. As a result, manufacturers of these computing devices face many design challenges in creating a smaller and more powerful device.
The design challenges require that the computing devices be lightweight, by today""s standards, and yet remain as powerful as some desktop computers. One approach to expanding the capability of a computing device, while maintaining or reducing the weight of the device, is to incorporate removable devices into the system which expand the number of functions and the computing capacity of the device.
As consumers buy and use computing devices for wider and more diverse applications, a user must be able to customize the capabilities of their computing device in accordance with their individual needs. Furthermore, computer users"" needs may change over the lifetime of the device. Two devices that users have employed to customize their computing devices are a Personal Computer (PC) card and a compact flash (CF) card. The PC card is a credit-card-size package which can be plugged into a 68-pin host adapter socket built into the computing device. The CF card is smaller in size and can be plugged into a similar host adapter socket with 50 pins. Some manufacturers also introduce changeable proprietary circuit modules for upgrading the computing device.
Space in a computing device has to be allocated to accommodate the sockets and circuit modules. Typically, to increase accessibility, the sockets and circuit modules are laterally located on a base of a computing device, demanding that the computing device be of a certain minimum size. Other user accessible components typically found on a computing device such as a main battery, a backup battery, a power supply socket, an earphone socket also compete for the limited space in the computing device.
According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a computing device having a casing and a printed circuit board (PCB) supported by the casing. The computing device includes a card receptacle moveably supported by the casing for covering the orifice. The card receptacle is spaced apart from the PCB in a closed position of the card receptacle to define a cavity therebetween. The card receptacle supports a connector that is connected to an electronic circuitry on the PCB. The card receptacle can be moved to at least one open position away from the orifice for receiving an electronic card and for allowing an additional module of the computing device to be inserted into the cavity for connection to the PCB.